CDOT plans resurfacing project on Highway 82 in midvalley

CARBONDALE – The Colorado Department of Transportation will begin a project to improve Highway 82 east, or upvalley, of Carbondale on Monday, April 15. The highway will be resurfaced between mile points 12.79 and 18.91. That is east of the Highway 133 junction at Carbondale to JW Drive in El Jebel. CDOT also will make safety improvements at JW Drive.

The work will cost an estimated $7.1 million, with partial funding from the federal Hazard Elimination System program. Old Castle SW Group Inc. was awarded the contract for the project, which is scheduled for completion in October.

The project involves the following:

• Milling of existing asphalt and asphalt overlay between approximately mile posts 12.79 and 17.78.

• Roadway improvements at the intersection of Highway 82 and JW Drive to include acceleration lanes for safer merging onto Highway 82 in both directions.

• Wildlife fencing covering 37,500 linear feet between mile posts 15.15 and 18.91.

• Eight deer guards at highway accesses. They are like cattle guards, only wider.

• Seventeen earthen ramps that provide access up to a cutout in the fence that provide deer and elk that are trapped within the wildlife-fenced highway right of way a better means to cross back over the fence to escape the highway and vehicles.

• Fifteen fence gates for pedestrian access.

CDOT works in coordination with Colorado Parks and Wildlife in implementing wildlife-mitigation features, all with the purpose of reducing the incidence of wildlife-vehicle collisions.

Traffic delays and single-lane closures can be expected from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Periods with no traffic impacts will be between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m. for upvalley traffic (toward Aspen) and between 3 and 7 p.m. for downvalley traffic.